Wednesday 27 January 2021

2021 Most Anticipated Releases

 In the last of my end of the year/beginning of the year posts, it's time to talk about 2021 releases. I don't think of myself as someone who reads a lot of new releases. However, when I look at my stats at the end of the year, they always make up a decent chunk of my reading. There are quite a few books coming in 2021 that I am really excited for, mostly just for the beginning of the month at the moment. A couple of these were published earlier this month but I haven't gotten around to them yet.





1. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas - The prequel to The Hate U Give following Maverick, Starr's father, as a teenager. (January 12th)

2. Shipped by Angie Hockman - A debut enemies-to-lovers romance with work colleagues forced to go on a cruise together. (January 19th)

3. Sweethand by NG Peltier - Another debut enemies-to-lovers romance involving a pastry chef heroine and her sister's wedding, in which the hero is the best man. (March 30th)

4. Becoming Mila by Estelle Maskame - The newest release from one of my favourite authors. It's a YA romance and that's all I need to know. (May)

5. Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson - A new Morgan Matson book! This is a YA following two best friends and a night in New York City. (May 4th)

6. Sunkissed by Kasie West - Another new release from a favourite author. A YA romance following a girl who goes to a family camp for the summer and falls for a staff member. (May 4th)

7. Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard - This is a 2020 release that was pushed back. This is a YA contemporary following a girl who gets on a plane with a one-way ticket after things in her life fall apart. (May 6th)

8. People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry - A friends to lovers romance following two best friends who go on a trip together every year, until one year things get ruined between them. (May 11th)

9. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren - The newest Christina Lauren book following a single mother who uses a genetic matchmaking service to find her soulmate. (May 18th)

10. Rise To The Sun by Leah Johnson - A YA F/F, I think best friends to lovers, romance involving a music festival. (July 6th)


Those are ten of my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2021. I'm excited to get to these new releases, and to see the releases that will be announced for the later half of the year. 

What are your most anticipated releases for 2021?

Sophie :)

Sunday 24 January 2021

2021 Reading Goals

One of my favourite things about a new year is setting new goals for myself, both personal goals and reading goals. I try not to put too much pressure on myself with these goals, and will change them throughout the year if I feel like trying to accomplish my goals is causing me to lose the enjoyment of reading. I have quite a few to share with you. Some of these I will keep in mind throughout the year and work on them without thinking about it, others I will completely forget about and we can find out together at the end of the year if I have accomplished them. 




Goodreads Reading Challenge
As always, this is my first goal for the year. I have, once again, set my Goodreads challenge goal at 50 books. I managed to easily read 50 books in 2020 but who knows what this year is going to bring. I do have a bit of an 'out there' goal of 100, we'll see if I manage to push myself.

Buzzword Challenge
One of my favourite booktubers, Kayla from BooksAndLala, created the Buzzword readathon a while ago but has changed it up for 2021. She has compiled a list of buzzwords, one for each month, and these can either be for a week long readathon at the beginning of each month, or as a year long reading challenge of reading one book per month for that month's buzzword. I did a terrible job of explaining that but you can find out more about it here or here. I am going to be trying to read a book a month for each monthly buzzword.

Year Of Smut Challenge
One of my favourite bookstagrammers, RateTheRomance, created a reading challenge for romance and I am so excited about it. There are two bingo boards, the regular boards and the Badass Bibliophile edition. I am starting off with the regular boards, but if I complete that I will challenge myself to be a Badass Bibliophile.

Read From My Physical TBR
This is a goal I have in some form every year. I don't reach for the books I own, I think because they don't reflect my reading tastes as much anymore, but I do still want to give them a go. I've tried setting a myself the challenge of getting my physical TBR down to a certain number by the end of the year, which didn't work. I've tried only allowing myself to buy new books once I had read 5 I already owned, which failed. So, this year I just want to try and read one book each month that I have owned before the beginning of 2021. I also want to try and do the same with the ebooks I already own but that is less of a priority.

Read More Diversely
This is something that I have been saying I want to do for so long now but never really made any conscious effort to change my reading. Looking back on my reading over previous years, I'm ashamed of how few books I have been reading from non-white authors. I want to read at least one book a month by an author that is not white. Obviously I want to be reading more than that, but that is the very least I want to be doing. I am also going to be tracking the diversity of all kinds within the books I'm reading on my reading spreadsheets to make me more aware of what I am reading and how diverse my reads actually are.

Try New Things
One of my favourite goals I have for myself in 2021 is to read one book in a genre/subgenre that is new to me, or a book that is completely outside of my comfort zone, each month. I didn't think adult romance was for me until I gave it a go and now it is my most read genre. I want to discover things I love that I haven't given a chance before.

Participate In Readathons
Readathons are so much fun and a great way to participate in the book community. I have had a blog for six years now and have yet to really be active in the book community in any way. Mostly because, even in an online environment, I am painfully shy. I want to participate in at least one readathon every 1-2 months and try to make myself get involved.

I'm not making any blogging goals this year because I'm not really sure what direction I want to take with my blog in 2021. Part of me would love to make this the year I really put the effort in and try to grow my blog. However, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself this year. Life is hard right now and I need to be nice to myself. So everything is a bit up in the air with blogging, but I will work things out.

What reading goals have you made for 2021? 

Sophie :)

Saturday 23 January 2021

2020 Goals Review

With everything else going on in the world, 2020 was the year my reading and blogging goals took a major back seat. I prioritised reading what I wanted to read and what I was in the mood for over trying to stick to the goals I set at the beginning of the year. In fact, I don't even remember what goals I did set. So I thought it would be interesting to take a look back and see how I did with my goals without actually trying.



Goodreads Reading Challenge
I have set my Goodreads goal at 50 for the last few years and did so again in 2020. I managed to surpass that and read 71 books. This was one that I was aware of throughout the year but never really had to work to surpass it as reading was something that brought me a lot of joy and comfort in such a mad year.

Finish Some Series
I didn't set any number for this goal, probably because I knew I wouldn't do very well with it. I did finish a series that I have been reading for many years, which felt like a big achievement, but otherwise I didn't prioritise series. I continued with a couple of series and read a complete trilogy, but only finished one series in 2020 that I had previously started.

Reduce My Physical TBR
This is another goal I really didn't think about at all. I didn't buy as many books in 2020, in fact I didn't buy many at all, so I didn't add to my physical TBR too much. However, I also didn't read too many of the books I already own. I've noticed that my tastes are changing so a lot of the books I own physically are not the books I want to pick up now. I am still reading them but I'm not getting through them as quickly as I would like.

Blog More Consistently
Obviously I made this goal before the whole global pandemic situation. I don't think I did too badly with my blogging in 2020 considering how crazy the year was. I had a few months of pretty consistent posting and other that weren't as successful. I'm not stressing about this goal too much.

Photograph Every Book I Read
For years I have wanted to post a picture of every book I read in a year on Instagram and never managed to do it. Somehow, 2020 was the year for it! I was a bit all over the place with how consistent I was, and I'm still working my way through sharing the last of my 2020 reads to my Instagram, but I was a lot more successful with this goal than I have been in any other year. 

I'm actually surprised by how successful I was in 2020 with my goals. I am not really bothered about the things I didn't do so well with as last year was so strange. Hopefully this year will have a bit more of normality and I can put a bit more effort into my reading goals.

Did you make any reading goals for 2020? How did you do?

Sophie :)

Tuesday 12 January 2021

Least Favourite Books Of 2020

 We've talked about my favourite books of 2020, but of course there were some books that were just not for me. I don't usually talk about my least favourites of the year. However, I figured just because these books were not something I enjoyed, others might like everything I don't so why not still talk about them. I have five books that I would consider my least favourites of the year. These are not necessarily bad books, they were just, as I said, not for me. 





1. Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

I am most definitely in the minority for this one! I have seen nothing but rave reviews for this one but, unfortunately, this was my least favourite book of the year. This book and I just didn't click. It follows Rob, a former popular lacrosse player who becomes a social pariah after his father is caught embezzling funds from people in town, and Maegan, an overachiever with a secret who's sister has come home from college pregnant. The two are paired together for a school project and develop a bit of an enemies to lovers relationship while helping each other through their personal problems. I hated these characters! They were just generally unbearable to me, but also made awful decisions. They were trying really hard to prove they're respective scandals do not make them terrible people, and in doing so became terrible people. I was so infuriated by the comparison between Maegan and Rob's situations. Rob's father's failed suicide attempt has left their lives completely changed and Rob is struggling with the fact his life has essentially fallen apart. Maegan made a mistake a year ago and has a pregnant sister, yet her situation is considered comparable to Rob's. I appreciate that everyone is dealing with different situations and one person's struggles do not negate the struggles of another. However, Maegan whining to Rob about how hard her life was despite knowing the situation he is living in just didn't sit right with me. I also didn't really love the plot and the big plot twists were not surprising to me. I have really enjoyed a Brigid Kemmerer book before, so it was disappointing that I didn't enjoy this one.


2. Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams

I really thought this was one I was going to love! This follows Nadia and Daniel who regularly take the same train to work. When Daniel notices Nadia one day, he decides to put a missed connections note in the newspaper and a story of near misses ensues. This premise sounded so intriguing to me but ended up being a bit disappointing. The main characters were really annoying, and had me wanting to DNF pretty early on, and the side characters just felt so under-developed that they were irrelevant. It also made me a little uncomfortable that Daniel knew a bit about Nadia, while she had no idea who the notes were from. It just felt kind of creepy. My biggest issue, though, was the near miss situation. I obviously knew that would be part of the story going into it, but it went on for far too long for me. The story ended up dragging when the near misses went on for so long and I just ended up getting bored. Again, this one was definitely just a me thing. Everyone else seems to really enjoy this book but it wasn't for me.


3. Evidence Of The Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This is a short story told in the form of letters by one of the most popular authors of 2019. After a woman finds letters to her husband from the woman he is having an affair with, she writes to that woman's husband to inform him. The two then begin writing to each other and strike up a friendship through letters. This was boring and I didn't find it to be anything special. I knew where it was going straight away, nothing was surprising about it at all and I didn't find the writing to be anything special. I just don't understand the point of this short story. I will likely try something else from Taylor Jenkins Reid but this wasn't great for me.


4. Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

This is the first book in the Heather Wells series and it was on my TBR for years, which makes it even more disappointing that it made this list. This is about Heather Wells, a former teen pop sensation who now finds herself working in a college dorm. When some of the dorm residents start dying and the police believe them all to be accidents, Heather enlists the help of her flatmate, who happens to be a private detective and the brother of her ex-boyfriend, to try and solve the mystery. Oh and her ex-boyfriend is also famous and shows up throughout the book to add to the drama. In case you couldn't tell from that synopsis, this book was a lot! It is a rom-com with a mystery and a main character who has a lot going on. It tried to be too many things and didn't really succeed all that well. The mystery was quite interesting but I really didn't care for any other part of the plot. The writing was also very much not for me and I found it incredibly irritating for the most part. The whole book was very juvenile and over-dramatic and just too much for me.


5. One Family Christmas by Bella Osbourne

I'm so sad that I have a Christmas book on this list! Christmas is my favourite time of year so I typically love reading books set during Christmas. This follows Lottie who wants to throw one last family Christmas in the manor house she grew up in after the death of her grandmother. However, when her family arrives, chaos ensues. This is another one that was just too over-dramatic and juvenile. Everything that could go wrong did and it just made it annoying instead of funny. Every other aspect of the plot was just completely overshadowed by the dramatics. The book also deals with grief and has a sweet second chance romance, which both could have been really great aspects of the plot but didn't get the chance to be. This one definitely wasn't my thing.


Those were my five least favourite books of 2020. Like I said many times, these are not necessarily bad books, they just weren't right for me. Just because I didn't enjoy them doesn't mean others won't. If one of the books I mentioned happens to be a favourite of yours, that's great and I'm glad you loved it.

Have you read any of these books? Did you love them?

Sophie :)

Monday 11 January 2021

My Favourite Books Of 2020

 We have finally reached the point in my end of the year wrap up posts in which I get to rave about my favourite books I read in the year. I, sadly, didn't read a lot of books I really loved in 2020. I only rated 5 books 5 stars, one of which was a reread, which isn't great considering I read 71 books. However, the books I did love were really great reads, so let's talk about the top ten.





1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This is one that should have been appearing on a favourites of the year list a few years ago. I don't know why it took me so long to get to this book but I am so glad I finally did. This is the story of Starr who witnesses her childhood best friend shot dead by a police officer. In the aftermath, she has to choose between keeping herself and her family safe or standing up for justice. I was just completely blown away by this book! It is a difficult book to read, given the upsetting nature of the topics discussed, but it is written so well and has the perfect mix of the hard-hitting, serious topics, the really lovely family relationship and Starr just being a teenage girl. Every character in this book is so well developed and has such a unique voice, I loved reading about and getting to know all of them. Angie Thomas is such an incredible writer, I can't wait to read more from her, and this book is just incredible. I can't recommend it enough.


2. Know My Name by Chanel Miller

2020 involved some pretty hard hitting reading. This is the first non-fiction book on this list and another book that was difficult to read. This is Chanel Miller's memoir and discusses the period in her life in which she became Emily Doe. Chanel was sexually assaulted on the Stanford campus, which made worldwide news after the man who assaulted her was sentenced to just six months in jail and her victim statement went viral. In her memoir, she is reclaiming her identity. She discusses the assault, the trial and the difficulties that arose surrounding that, as well as how the situation affected both her life and the lives of those around her. This was so much more than I even expected it to be. It was a really tough read, this isn't sugar coated, the hard stuff isn't brushed over, but it was so worth reading. It was so well-written and so incredibly brave. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Chanel herself, and hearing her tell her own story was powerful. So much of this book, and the things Chanel has had to face, made me so angry. Some of the reactions to this book make me so angry. This is a book that I know will stay with me for some time, and one I will recommend to anyone who feels able to read it. 


3. What Makes Us Stronger by Freya Lewis

Another non-fiction book and another very difficult read. This is another memoir and tells Freya's story of the Manchester Arena attack. Freya was not only injured in the attack, but also lost her best friend. The Manchester Arena attack is something that continues to affect me, despite the fact I was not there and wasn't directly impacted by the events. That makes both reading this book and talking about is quite difficult. Freya's story is so powerful and it was so incredibly brave of her to share that story. She discusses her memories of that night, her injuries and recovery, losing her best friend, and how her life continues to be affected. It was hard to read but it was worth it and it was incredibly inspiring.


4. The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 In Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede

Come From Away is my favourite musical of all time so of course I read this, and of course I loved it. This is another non-fiction book, which tells the story of the 38 planes, and thousands of passengers, who were diverted to Newfoundland when American airspace closed on 9/11, and the hospitality the received from the citizens of Gander. I obviously know of this story from the musical but it was lovely to learn more about the true events. This story really showcases the good in humanity and true kindness these people didn't hesitate to show to complete strangers. It was obviously a very emotional read and discusses the horrific events of 9/11 so is difficult to read at times. I just really loved getting to know more about this amazing story.


5. Love, Life And The List by Kasie West

Now for something a bit more light and fluffy. Kasie West is one of my favourite authors and has had books featured on favourites lists a few times. This is probably my favourite of all her books, and I've read almost all of them. This follows Abby who, after being rejected for an art show, sets out to complete a list in order to help her improve her artwork. She enlists the help of her best friend, Cooper, who she has had an unrequited crush on for a while, to help her out. This had so many things I love in books, it's no surprise I loved it so much. We have a list to complete, a small beach town setting, an adorable friends-to-lovers romance and amazing friendships. There are also some more serious topics as Abby's mum is dealing with severe anxiety and the impact that has on the family as a whole is discussed. This was just a really fun read with a great romance, but also dealt with some more serious topics and did so very well.


6. Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan

This was probably my most surprising read of 2020. I knew basically nothing going into it and was just blown away. This is a sports romance following August, an NBA star, and Lotus, the girlfriend of his biggest rival, who meet randomly in a bar and start to develop feelings for each other. This book takes some very dark turns, that I was not expecting, and has a lot of trigger warnings to be aware of that going into it. This book made me fall in love with Kennedy Ryan; her writing, her characters, the way she handles such difficult topics. It took me a little bit to get into but once I did I just loved this book. I have a full review here.


7. Girl Made Of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

This is another one that took me longer than it should have to get to. It follows Mara who's best friend accuses her twin brother of raping her at a party. While she knows her best friend would never lie about that, she struggles to accept that her brother could ever do something like that. This was another really difficult book to read. It is such a raw, heartbreaking account of such a difficult time, both for Mara and her friend. This incredibly difficult situation is portrayed so vividly and you're really thrown into Mara's struggles with her. I definitely need to read more from this author.


8. Beach Read by Emily Henry

Everyone was raving about this book when it was released, which is really the only reason I picked it up. I wasn't super intrigued by the synopsis but I am so glad the hype got to me and I decided to give it a go. This follows January, a romance author who has just lost her Dad and moves into his beach house for the summer, and Gus, her college rival literary fiction author who happens to be her new neighbour. The pair are both struggling with writing and so decide to swap genres. This took a much more serious turn than I was expecting from the bright, fun cover. Both characters are dealing with some pretty heavy stuff and those topics are explored in the story. However, it is also a fun romance. I loved these characters and their banter, they had so much chemistry and I loved watching their relationship develop. Emily Henry's writing is really great, I'm so excited that she has another romance releasing in 2021.


9. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Apparently enemies to lovers was the trope for me in 2020. This is another enemies to lovers romance, this time following the siblings of a newlywed couple who are the only two at the wedding who don't get food poisoning. In order to not waste the honeymoon, the couple decide to send the siblings, despite the fact the two hate each other. This was just so much fun! Olive and Ethan have the best banter and I was rooting for them from the beginning. The Hawaii setting made for such a great backdrop to their story, and the beach resort just added to the romantic vibes. I also loved the fake dating thrown in there as well.


10. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

This one is purely nostalgic! While I know they are not the best books and there are issues surrounding the series, Twilight will always hold a special place in my heart. Getting another book in the Twilight series was exactly what I needed in 2020 and it did not disappoint. Midnight Sun tells the story of Twilight, but from Edward's perspective. I ended up enjoying it even more than I was expecting to and there was a lot of new content and additions to the original story that I loved. It's the series that got me to where I am today in my reading life and that will always be special to me.


Those are my top ten favourite books of 2020. They are a bit of a mix of genres, a lot of really hard-hitting and impactful reads, but all really great books. 

What was your favourite book of 2020?

Sophie :)

Thursday 7 January 2021

2020 End Of Year Book Survey

 I'm not over talking about all the books I read in 2020 yet, so it's time for the End Of Year Book Survey. This was created by Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner and is now in it's 11th year. I really love doing this survey and have done it several times over the years. There are a lot of questions, so let's get started.



Reading Stats
Number Of Books You Read: 71
Number Of Rereads: 8
Genre You Read The Most From: Romance

Best In Books

1. Best book you read in 2020? 
It has to be The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Pretty much everyone else has already read this book and knows how great it is.

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?
Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams. It sounded like something I would really love but I didn't end up liking it very much at all.

3. Most surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read?
Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan. This was surprising because I didn't expect to love it as much as I did, but also because I really was not expecting the way the story went.

4. Book that you 'pushed' the most people to read (and they did)?
I pushed a few people to read some Christina Lauren after discovering them in 2020 but they haven't gotten around to it yet.

5. Best series you started in 2020? Best sequel? Best series ender of 2020?
The Hoops series by Kennedy Ryan for all of these questions. 

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2020?
I can't say Kennedy Ryan again so probably Christina Lauren.

7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga. I don't read a lot of Middle Grade by I loved this.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
The One by John Marrs. This one was a wild ride.

9. Book you read in 2020 that you would be most likely to re-read next year?
Love, Life and the List by Kasie West. I already want to pick this up again.

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2020?

11. Most memorable character of 2020?
Belinda is a side character in Never Greener by Ruth Jones but was my favourite part of the whole book.

12. Most beautifully written book of 2020?
Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga. This is written in verse and is just beautiful.

13. Most thought-provoking/life changing book of 2020?
Know My Name by Chanel Miller. This book was so powerful and I would recommend it to everyone.

14. Book you can't believe you waited until 2020 to finally read?
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. It took me way to long to get around to this.

15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2020?
This isn't something I keep not of but I remember loving a lot of the passages from Know My Name by Chanel Miller.

16. Shortest and longest books you read in 2020?

17. Book that shocked you the most?
No Exit by Taylor Adams. This was another wild ride.

18. OTP of the year (you will go down with this ship!)
Abby and Cooper from Love, Life and the List by Kasie West. I just loved reading their romance.

19. Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year?
Lotus and Iris from the Hoops series by Kennedy Ryan.

20. Favourite book you read in 2020 from an author you read previously?
Love, Life and the List by Kasie West. This was one of my favourite books of the year, in case you couldn't tell.

21. Best book you read in 2020 that you read based solely on a recommendation?
Pretty much everything I read is based on recommendations but Beach Read by Emily Henry is one I wasn't really interested in until everyone started recommending it and I ended up loving it.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2020?
Andrew from In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren really made me swoon.

23. Best 2020 debut you read?
You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson. This was a lot of fun and a really great debut.

24. Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting you read in 2020?
Down Among The Sticks And Bones by Seanan McGuire. This world was so vivid and really interesting to read about.

25. Book that put a smile in your face/was the most fun to read?
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. This was really fun, I had a great time reading it.

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2020?
What Makes Us Stronger by Freya Lewis. A lot of books made me cry in 2020 but this one hit me the hardest.

27. Hidden gem of the year?
Let's Get Textual by Teagan Hunter. I haven't heard a lot about this book but I really enjoyed it.

28. Book that crushed your soul?
Girl Made Of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake. Such a powerful book but hard to read.

29. Most unique book you read in 2020?
The One by John Marrs. I haven't read anything else was a similar concept to this.

30. Book that made you the most mad?
Know My Name by Chanel Miller. So much of what Chanel had to go through made me so, so mad.


Your Blogging/Bookish Life

1. New favourite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2020?
The entire romance community! I discovered so many great romance Bookstagram accounts and romance Booktubers. Probably my favourite person I discovered in 2020 is Bree from In Love & Words. I love her!

2. Favourite post you wrote in 2020?
I don't really love anything I wrote in 2020, I don't feel like I gave my blog enough attention. The Taylor Swift Songs As Books post was a lot of fun though.

3. Favourite bookish related photo you took in 2020?
I am not at all artistic or creative so my bookstagram pictures are incredibly boring. I do like the way this one turned out though, even though it is super simple.

4. Best bookish event that you participated in?
I didn't really get a chance to participate in much in 2020 as I was so crazy busy with work. I want to participate in more in 2021.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2020?
It's not really a moment and might not seem like much to most people, but being able to be much more consistent with bookstagram and not giving up in it after a couple of months is something I'm so happy about.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life in 2020?
Being a healthcare worker in a global pandemic, does that count?

7. Most popular post on your blog in 2020?
My blog is not popular at all, because I don't put enough effort or work into it. By views it would seem my Summer TBR was my most popular.

8. Post you wished got a little more love in 2020?
I guess just my blog in general, but I have never really been bothered about numbers and views. I blog more for myself and would still do it even if nobody was reading.

9. Best bookish discovery?
Definitely the romance community, both on instagram and youtube.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of the year?
I have a whole post about this coming later in the month.


Looking Ahead

1. One book you didn't get to in 2020 but will be your number one priority in 2021?
Is it really, really bad to use the same book I used for this answer last year? I still haven't gotten around to reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and even though I say this every year, it really needs to happen in 2021.

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2021 (non-debut)?
Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson. I haven't read a Morgan Matson book in the longest time, I can't wait for a new one.

3. 2021 debut you are most anticipating?
I haven't really had a look at upcoming debut releases, this is something I need to do soon.

4. Series ending/sequel you are most anticipating in 2021?
I'm not anticipating any books in series at the moment. That will probably change though.

5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2021?
I have a whole goals post coming later in the month but I would really just love to get on top of blogging a bit better. This is something I try to do every year but I'm never very successful. I want to have posts reading in advance instead of rushing to get things done at the last minute, which will also help when I get into a blogging slump. 

That was a lot! I have cramp from all the typing I have just done answering all those questions. Hopefully this was interesting. Let me know if you have read any of the books mentioned and what you thought of them. I would also love any tips for helping me get on top of blogging and get better at blogging in advance. 

Sophie :)

Wednesday 6 January 2021

2020 Bookish Statistics

 It's stats time! This is one of my favourite things about the start of a new year. I love looking back at the past year, at the books I read and the trends in my reading. I just find it all so interesting, so let's look at 2020.



Number Of Books Read...
- In Total: 71
- Under 250 Pages: 12
- Between 250-300 Pages: 3
- Between 300-400 Pages: 30
- Between 400-500 Pages: 20
- Over 500 Pages: 6

Number Of Pages Read...
- In Total: 24,212

Number Of...
- Physical: 11
- eBooks: 22
- Audiobooks: 27
- Mixed (eg Physical & Audio): 11
- Rereads: 8
- DNFs: 3
- New Releases: 19
- Backlist Titles: 52

Number Of Books Rated...
- 5 Stars: 5
- 4.5 Stars: 1
- 4 Stars: 28
- 3.5 Stars: 6
- 3 Stars: 19
- 2.5 Stars: 7
- 2 Stars: 4
- 1.5 Stars: 0
- 1 Stars: 1

Authors Read...
- New To Me: 37
- Read Previously: 16

Number Of...
- Adult Books: 39
- YA Books: 29
- NA Books: 2
- MG Books: 1
- YA Contemporary: 14
- Adult Romance: 21
- Adult Contemporary: 7
- Adult General Fiction: 1
- Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Dystopian/Paranormal: 14
- Mystery/Thriller: 3
- Non-Fiction: 7
- Graphic Novel: 2

This & That
- Longest By Pages: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (756 pages)
- Shortest By Pages: The Naughty List by Ellie Mae McGregor (56 pages)
- Longest By Title: The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 In Gander, Newfoundland by Jim Defede
- Shortest By Title: Flow by Kennedy Ryan
- Longest On My TBR: I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
- Shortest On My TBR: The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

- First Read Of 2020: Patient Care: Death and Life In The Emergency Department by Paul Seward
- Last Read Of 2020: This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

These statistics are super interesting for me because it shows how different a year I had in 2020. My reading changed a lot. In terms of page number, I was still reading mostly the same length books. My average number of pages for 2020 was, according to Goodreads, 341 pages, which is only slightly longer than the year before. 
2020 was the year of audiobooks for me, it would seem. Over half of the books I read I listened to at least some of on audio. I have started listening to audiobooks while I get ready, do dishes, clean, and also spent a lot of time during lockdowns listening while doing jigsaw puzzles. Audiobooks definitely helped me to read more. 
My ratings were a bit all over the place in 2020. Unfortunately, I didn't read a lot of 5 star books. I wouldn't say many of the books I read could be considered new all time favourites. I did have 28 books that I rated 4 stars though, so I enjoyed a lot of what I read.
The biggest change in 2020 would definitely be the types of books I was reading. I have always read mostly YA books, but was reading mostly half YA and half Adult for most of the year. I ended up reading more Adult books for the first time in 2020, which is most likely due to discovering Romance. Adult Romance was my most read genre with 21 books. I think this might be why I didn't read a lot of books I loved in 2020, as I'm still trying to discover what I really love within the Romance genre. I will definitely be exploring this more in 2021 and will hopefully find the ones I really adore.

Yearly statistics always give me a lot to think about. I will definitely be incorporating some of these findings into my 2021 goals.

Do you enjoy looking into your end of year statistics? What did you find most surprising about your 2020 reading?

Sophie :)

Monday 4 January 2021

All The Books I Read In 2020

 What a strange year 2020 was! While it wasn't a great year for much, it was a pretty good year for reading. I read a total of 71 books in 2020. Some months were better than others; between 3-8 books per month. I didn't have any months of reading nothing, unlike in 2019, which I'm really happy about. One of my favourite things to do is go through all the books I have read in the year as a bit of a recap and to remind me of some of the books I may have forgotten about. So, let's get in to all of the books I read in 2020.



January

- Patient Care: Death and Life in the Emergency Room by Paul Seward - ★★★

- Unwind by Neal Shusterman (reread) - ½

- Girl Made Of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake - 

- Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams - 

- Unwholly by Neal Shusterman (reread) - 

- The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty - 


February

- Giant Days Vol 4 by John Allison, Max Sarin & Whitney Cogar - 

- One Of Us Is Next by Karen M McManus - 

- Evidence Of The Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid - ½

- Giant Days Vol 5 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Liz Fleming & Whitney Cogar - 

- Roomies by Christina Lauren - ½

- Critical by Dr Matt Morgan - 

- The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 In Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede - 

- Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer - 


March

- Never Greener by Ruth Jones - 

- The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren - 

- Love And Other Words by Christina Lauren - 

- Unsouled by Neal Shusterman - 


April

- Love, Life And The List by Kasie West - ½

- Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd - ½

- Eve Of Man by Giovanna & Tom Fletcher (reread) - ★ - Review

- The Eve Illusion by Giovanna & Tom Fletcher - ★ - Review

- What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick - 


May

- I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella - ½ - Review

- The Book Of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern - ★ - Review

- Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot - ★ - Review

- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (reread) - 

- The Biker by Jolie Day - ½

- Let's Get Textual by Teagan Hunter - 

- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (reread) - 

- What Makes Us Stronger by Freya Lewis - 


June

- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (reread) - 

- This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen - 

- Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan - ★ - Review

- Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan - 

- Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy - ½


July

- You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson - ½

- Accidental Hero by Nicole Snow - ½

- Out Of Love by Hazel Hayes - 

- The One by John Marrs - 

- Fame, Fate And The First Kiss by Kasie West - 

- Crush by Tiffany Allee - ½

- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - 

- Maybe This Time by Kasie West - 


August

- Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga - 

- So You Want To Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo - 

- Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (reread) - 

- Believe In Me by Amy Sparling - 

- The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa - 

- Moment Of Truth by Kasie West - ½

- Beach Read by Emily Henry - 


September

- Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer - 

- City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare (reread) - ★ - Review

- Hook Shot by Kennedy Ryan - 

- Down Among The Sticks And Bones by Seanan McGuire - 


October

- No Exit by Taylor Adams - 

- Meet Me In London by Georgia Toffolo - 

- Undivided by Neal Shusterman - 


November

- One Family Christmas by Bella Osbourne - 

- Flow by Kennedy Ryan - 

- The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes by Suzanne Collins - ½

- The Shelf by Helly Acton - 

- Know My Name by Chanel Miller - 

- The Twelve Dates Of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss - ★ - Review

- Dear John by Nicholas Sparks - 


December

- In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren - ★ - Review

- All I Want For Christmas by Joanna Bolouri - ★ - Review

- The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward - 

- All About Us by Tom Ellen - 

- The Naughty List by Ellie Mae McGregor - 

- This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens - ½


Those are all of the 71 book I read in 2020. Over the next week or so I will be recapping my year in much more detail and giving a lot more information about my statistics and the individual books I read. Definitely check back if that is something you are interested in. 

Did you read any of the same books as me in 2020? Which of these did you enjoy?

Sophie :)

Friday 1 January 2021

December 2020 Wrap Up

 It's the last wrap up of 2020! I really can't believe 2020 is over, it still feels like March to me. December was a very busy month, as it always is, so I didn't get to read quite as many books as I had wanted to. I did manage to read 6 books, which is still pretty good, and everything was Christmas/holiday related. I even really enjoyed almost all of them as well.



In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren -

This is the newest release from Christina Lauren and it's their first Christmas book. It follows a woman whose family are spending their final Christmas at the cabin they go to every year, but after an accident on the way home she wakes up back on the plane on the way there. She ends up reliving the holiday period over and over again until she can discover what makes her happy. It's a really fun, Christmassy book with the most adorable friends-to-lovers romance. The Groundhog Day element isn't something I usually enjoy but it was done so perfectly in this book that I loved it. I also really loved the family, and found family, dynamic and all the characters. It is filled with festive fun, which made it the perfect December read. I had some small issues with the ending, which is why I knocked off a star, but overall I really loved it. I shared more of my thoughts in my Christmas New Releases post if you want more detail.

Rating: 4/5


All I Want For Christmas by Joanna Bolouri -

This is another fun Christmas book, following a man who takes a job working as Santa at his local mall and ends up meeting a young boy who's Christmas wish is for his mother to be happy. He ends up setting the boy's mother up with his best friend, but soon starts to develop feelings for her himself. This was such an adorable book and completely exceeded my expectations. It is the love triangle trope done so well, with really well developed friendships and strong chemistry. I loved all of these characters, particularly our main character Nick, and their relationships with each other. This takes place throughout the year, bookended by Christmas, so isn't as festive as some of the other Christmas books I have read, but it did still feature prominently. Again, I have more detailed thoughts in my little review in my Christmas New Releases post.

Rating: 4/5


The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward -

This is a Christmas romance novella that I picked up at random. It is an enemies-to-lovers, fake dating romance, following two colleagues who take each other home for Christmas pretending to be dating. This was such a surprise, I loved it! It's super short, so a very quick read, and loads of fun. Our main characters have such great chemistry and their banter is very entertaining. I did feel like they stopped being enemies pretty quickly but I didn't mind too much. There are a few little twists thrown in to keep things interesting and it kept the plot moving. We didn't get any steamy scenes in this novella but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. It was a really sweet romance and a very entertaining, enjoyable read.

Rating: 4/5


All About Us by Tom Ellen -

This was another surprise for me. I picked it up at random and wasn't really sure what to expect. It follows a man whose relationship with his wife is on the rocks when, on Christmas Eve, he finds himself thrown back into the future to the day he chose his now wife over his university crush. He then finds himself thrown around his past to see the path his life has taken and where he is heading. I ended up really enjoying this. It's another love triangle in a way but also focuses a lot on their troubled marriage and if it could be salvaged. I enjoyed the time travel aspect in this one as well, which as I said is not something I usually enjoy. I thought it did a great job in this book of really developing the characters and the relationships between them. This was a much more serious book than the other Christmas books I have read and touches on some really important topics, such as grief and the importance of talking about feelings. I did have a little bit of an issue with the way one of the female characters was portrayed towards the end, I think it took away from the story a bit. However, I did really enjoy this story and loved the way things wrapped up.

Rating: 4/5


The Naughty List by Ellie Mae McGregor -

This was everything I never knew I needed. It is a smutty novella involving a romance between a single mother and sexy silver fox Santa. This is super short, super steamy and super fun. It was only around 50 pages and was exactly as it sounds so I don't really have too much to say about it. I enjoyed it, the steamy scenes were very well done, Santa was just perfect and I liked the relationship. I just wanted a little bit more of everything. Another 50 pages and this would have been perfect.

Rating: 4/5


This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens -

After a month full of 4 star reads, I unfortunately ended the year on a bit of a low. This follows a man and a woman who were born on New Years' Eve, in the same hospital, just minutes apart, who end up meeting at a party on NYE 2019. The book follows them throughout the year as they keep bumping into each other and, despite being complete opposites, start to develop feelings for each other. I just didn't love this. I found both main characters incredibly annoying and kept getting frustrated by the decisions they made. There's a whole 'jinx' aspect of the story that I just couldn't deal with. However, the thing that really got me was the anxiety portrayal. The mother of one of the main characters has severe anxiety and has spent years struggling to even leave the house, until she is suddenly rid of her anxiety in a few months because she got some tough love. There was a good overall message to this book, and some really great friends who help deliver that message, but I just couldn't get past the things that annoyed me.

Rating: 2.5/5


And those are the last six books I read in 2020! I know I said it already but I really cannot believe that year is over. December was a pretty good month in terms of quality of the books I read and I loved finding some great Christmas books. It was a really good end to my reading year. Hopefully January will be an even better month for reading.

What was the best book you read in December?

Sophie :)